I've been trying to figure out the structure of "Inertiatic ESP" by The Mars Volta to try and dissect some of the methods used. Mainly just the beginning part. I've been working for 45 minutes and can't even figure out the time signature. It's either 4/4 or 3/4, but the lead guitar leads me to believe its 4/4. Then that short part in the chorus right before the lead comes in changes things, since that one part seems to be 3/4.

I'm confused and need help. I've got the notes, but the rhythm is a bit too complex for me. Can you guys figure it out?

I just finished reading Lord of the Flies for my English class and loved it. I like the in depth take on human nature.

So what other similar books do you recommend? I've already got 1984 on my list, Anything else that might be good?

EDIT: Alright, Let m,e be a bit more specific, I guess.

I'm 16 but have a huge appreciation for classic literature (as in I'm currently reading Prometheus Bound/Seven Against Thebes, with Don Quixote on the list). I'm already hooked on LOTR, haven't finished Two towers yet. Already read;

>Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series>Animal Farm>Catcher in the Rye (2nd worst book I've ever read)>Night (worst book I've ever read)>Lord of the Flies (might be best book I've ever read)>Julius Caesar>Fellowship of the Ring>The Hobbit>Eragon series>Three Theban Plays

Shure SM58's are not made for recording guitars (although it's better than anything I've done), they're really for vocals or acoustic guitars. Look into getting an SM57 or a Sennheiser e609 for the guitar. (Both about $100 USD)

If you can afford it, upgrade the amp too. A Marshall half stack should be good, but I'm not too keen on amps. You'll have to do some research on that.

I guess I should give a little info on the sound I want.I play in a rock band that plays mainly punk, but tends to stray from that a lot. We have songs that are more fusion, songs that are more alternative, and songs that are more grunge/metal. The tone I really want is something similar to Chevelle. Very hard, crisp, and heavy.

My Interface is a Peavey PV6 USB Mixer.My priority right now is drums. My band uses 2 different drum sets depending on location, both are Tama Imperialstars with shit factory heads. However, one is a 5 piece with hh, crash, splash, and ride, and the other is a 6 piece with hh, crash, and ride.

So, I've been using my Shire SM58's and 57 for recording, but the quality of the electric guitars, bass, and drums are a bit disappointing (specifically bass drum, snare, and low toms).

I was looking at the Sennheiser e609 for the guitars, and I found the MXL 990/991 pack. Are they good for what I need? They seem to be designed for broadcasting, but a lot of people say that they make good drum overheads and cymbal mics.

Also, I wanted to hook up these condenser mics to my mixer with the dynamic mics I already use. Will the phantom power harm them?

I use a Peavey PV6 that works very nicely.But it's more choice of microphone that matters. Like trying to use an SM58 on an electric guitar probably won't work out too well, as an SM57 works better for elec. guitars and bases. Do a bit of research on this.

EDIT: also, don't bother with bundles that include studio phones, they aren't worth it. All you really need is a set of earbuds.

This album is known as a commercial disaster, yet for the life of me I can't figure out why, it's my favorite from them! I find them to sound like a cross between Chevelle and Incubus, and it works all too well.

I decided to screw with my cymbals today and found that when I flipped the ride over, it leaned a lot more but had a much better tone (IMO) than normal. Is it alright to play with an upside-down ride? Anyone else tried it?

I got a new kit for Xmas and have been playing around a bunch already. I have prior experience, so I'm pretty good already. I'm already looking to expand my kit. It has 6 drums and 3 cymbals, 14" hat, 16" crash, and 20" ride.

What's the first piece I should look at? I play all kinds of rock music, but mostly prog metal and hard rock (like Chevelle and Alien Ant Farm). I was looking at this nice 17" Sabian Holy China at Guitar Center, but I also kind of wanted a tambourine. Then there's always a fast crash.

I was at Guitar Center today looking for a china when I came by the 17" Sabian Holy China. It sounded beautiful, but someone else there told me that because there are holes in it, it has weak points and will break easily. Is this true? Does anyone have experience with these?

I don't know what you would put instead of "Ain't bein' alive". Sorry, but I've got nothing.

As for you're second verse, maybe think of some other aspect of what was going on when your friend passed. Was there anything else happening? Anything he might regret? Anything you regret? It's tough to come up with more sometimes, but once you do it all falls into place.

Overall I like it, esp the theme. The line "Some stupid's on a quest" really stuck out to me. The second verse was the strongest in my opinon. I love the bridge, esp the part after the solo, I could practically hear it in my head. What genre of song is this intended to be?

No issues with the verses, but with the first stanza of the chorus the rhythm struck me as a little odd, I had some trouble with the syllables but of course when something is actually sung it can often make more sense.

As for a name, maybe a word that describes the subject of the song? Like a title of sorts, i.e. instead of "poisoned", "Poisoner". Or something like that. But maybe something that wouldnt immediately reveal what the song was about? But would make sense upon listening andunderstanding. Like a metaphor. I dunno.

This is an old one that I dug up and fixed a bit. It was originally titled "Poisoned", but I removed that lyric from the song. I don't really care for abstract titles, but I will use one if it came down to it.

So let me know what you think and if you have a better title let me know as well.

Verse 1:They say vines spread fastRapid disease, a world in distressBut many rush to welcome itFreewill destroyed at best

Chorus:From far east to westSome stupid's on a questTo rid his world of pain and tearsBut just destroy the rest

From far north to southSomeone's got a mouthFor spreading lies to hypnotizeWhy can't we figure it out

Verse 2:We walk a thin lineWhat we know and what we thinkBefore you know it our livesWill be penned in ink

Chorus:From far east to westSome stupid's on a questTo rid his world of pain and tearsBut just destroy the rest

From far north to southSomeone's got a mouthFor spreading lies to hypnotizeWhy can't we figure it out

Bridge:I'm drowned in disappointmentLost inside their mindsPicking through confusionFinding what's left of rightAnd right of wrong

[Guit. solo]

We have to goWe have to fightWe have to winBecause it's not right

(It's not right)(It's not right)(It's not right)(It's not right)

[Instrumental Breakdown]

Chorus:From far east to westSome stupid's on a questTo rid his world of pain and tearsBut just destroy the rest

From far north to southSomeone's got a mouthFor spreading lies to hypnotizeWhy can't we figure it out

Lyrically, it's fairly sound, however I'm stuck on "my beautiful accident". Not sure exactly what is meant, but it might just be me.

Also, "Ain't bein' alive" is a bit out of place. It seems colloquial while the rest of the lyrics are touching.

Also, the structure seems odd. Is this a song or a poem? If it's a poem then never mind, but if it's a song, then it fails to have a defined verse, chorus, or bridge. There is no repeated section and it's all in all fairly short. I've seen songs like this before (i.e. - Mastodon - Creature Lives), but it is uncommon.

i'll try to help you out here, if i can. First off, as a fellow Tama user, i find their stock heads to be crap. I don't care if you have an imperialstar or a starclassic, those clear heads are bunk. anyway, to get that thuddy, sustainless "modern metal" sound, i usually tune my top heads tight , and the resonant heads much looser. To get rid of excess ring, there are a few options... new heads, something in a thicker weight. Remo Pinstripes, Aquarian Studio X, Evans EC2 are all good options. Also, a product called Moongel helps a lot in killing excess ring from batter side heads. As for the snare.... a bit of that rattling (like when you hit the toms and bass drum) is caused by "sympathetic vibrations." This is due to the (i hope i'm explaining this right) closeness of certain frequencies in your kit and there is no way to completely eliminate it. It is possible to somewhat reduce it by slightly detuning the lugs that are right next to the snare beds. Now, if it is rattling too much when you hit it, your snares are too loose. On my own snare drum, a lot of the excess "ring" comes from the snare side head. I alleviate this by placing a couple small squares of duct tape on the bottom head (duct tape is really a drummer's best friend, miracle substance really).

As for tuning in general...... i suck at explaining it in detail, but the general idea is to get all of the lugs to the same tension and remove any wrinkles in the head. There are quite a lot of videos on the subject of drum tuning on youtube though, so.... just run a search on it.

I hope this helps at least a bit, and enjoy the new set.

thanks for the explanation!

By the way, I'm no n00b to sound. I'm a guitarist and my band's co-audio engineer, so I understand what you're talking about. I'll give some of this stuff a try, but I'll save duct tape as a last resort. I just got this kit, I don't want to cover the heads with glue.

I just bought myself a Tama 6-piece Imperialstar kit. It's my first real drum kit and I'm not entirely sure I set it up right. The toms have an odd sound to them (very ringy and more impact noise than pitch) and I can't get the snare to a) stop rattling, and b) sound good.

The instructional DVD wasn't much help in tuning them, so I'm looking to UG for advice. I generally play punk (Green Day, Franz Ferdinand...), hard rock (Chevelle, System of a Down...) or melodic metal (Dream Theater, Trivium...) so I would like tunings suitable for these types of music. I especially like that seamless, tight tom sound that you hear in modern metal tracks like Trivium. (ex: Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAwdHRHH1-M])

I hope I'm being clear enough. If not, let me know. I'll see if I can get a video of some sort up.

Not so sure about this, but I guess it couldn't hurt to try. Do a little research on that before you it.

I'm not sure if putting the mic on the beater head will make a difference. What you should do is blast the volume on whatever PA you're using to the maximum. If that isn't loud enough, you're playing too loud and you're going to go deaf.

Meinl HCS. To my ears, they have fewer unpleasant overtones when compared to the Sabian B8s. Of course, you should try them out for yourself side by side because your ears may tell you something completely different.

Quote by bassdrum

HCS. had the ride once and it was pretty decent. the bell sounded really nice and it had a pretty good overall tone. I had B8s for hats and crashes and they don't seem very durable; not to mention i didn't like the tone all that well.

I use soultone cymbals now, it's not too hard to get endorsed and they are super solid cymbals. definitely recommend looking into that or some used ones :p

Thanks for the input, but let me add specifically what I'm looking for.

I want as little decay on the ride as possible. I know that the HCS is "ringy" and was really wondering about the B8 ride. Also, I prefer the crashes to be relatively low-pitched and have an average decay time, not really long, but not short.

In GB, create a virtual instrument track and choose a nice drum instrument. Go to your piano roll and figure out what keys make what sounds. Open up your musical typing keyboard and record. Quantize afterwards to make sure you got it right (or adjust each note manually).